《The Arts of Spellcrafting》 The first class ¡°What is Magic?¡± ¡ª There are two ways to make a class interesting. One, obviously, is to teach something interesting to the students. For Spellcrafting 101, that can be an introduction of a new spell which they can learn to cast. The more powerful or useful the spell, the more attractive the class. The other way is to start with a philosophical question like ¡®What is Love?¡¯ or ¡®What Hurts the most?¡¯ A risky teaching method, requiring the lecturer not only to be charismatic to maintain an engaging performance, but also to deliver meaningful answers to the questions posed. Professor Soren did not have a problem with that approach. Wavy dark hair, hazel eyes exuding curiosity (like that of a cat) on a cleanly shaved face, the professor in his thirties is still considered a desirable bachelor. Addressing the class in the copper-brown suit that matches perfectly with the color of the wooden lecture, his delivery ¡®What is Magic?¡¯ can even be called more than Charismatic. The rest is what goes after, and everyone in the lecture waited for it in silence, or maybe they were contemplating how to respond. ¡°Magic is Mana?¡± a hesitant voice, among the seats of the first year students, broke the silence. ¡°Not bad. We cannot cast a magic spell without Mana. Anyone with a different answer?¡± ¡°Magic is a Gift?¡± ¡°Oh right, most spells we know are the Gifts of the Constellations. What else?¡± ¡°Magic is a natural phenomenon.¡± ¡°Right, but not totally, at least for now and for us.¡± Noticing some confused faces, Soren remarked in his mind ¡®Better explain that soon.¡¯ A long silence. It seems there is no other definition for Magic. ¡°OK. Let¡¯s start with what is NOT Magic, but constitutes Magic. Have you heard about the Five Senses?¡± ¡°You mean Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, Smell?¡± ¡°Not exactly them, but still they are part of the Five Senses.¡± Soren explained with a light smile. Many students give a confused face. Obviously, how can first year students know the topic that is barely discussed even among the High Scholars? ¡°Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, Smell are parts of the Sense of Physics. The most basic of the Five Senses, and also, the opposite of Magic.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The Professor flicked his hand, and a golden fireball was conjured from the thin air, floating in front of the class. ¡°Look at this miniature sun. We can see its radiance, hear its cracking burns, feel the heat, and if you are close enough, can smell some of the sulfuric here¡­ I don¡¯t recommend tasting it though, unless you are a golem.¡± ¡°All living beings have the Sense of Physics.¡± He continues. ¡°Animals run away from a burning forest. Sunflowers point their faces toward sunlight. Even microscopic creatures bear a little Sense of Physics.¡± ¡°Now¡­¡± Soren pointed his finger to the miniature sun and gestured upward. Streams of light emerged from the fireball, gradually forming a golden hourglass structure in the open air. ¡°The Five Senses stack on top of each other, forming the Laws of the World we live in. The higher the Sense, the more limited it is to the living beings. Next to Physics is Emotion. This Sense is mostly reserved for animals, allowing them to sense their own and possibly other¡¯s emotions.¡± ¡°The third layer is on its own and at the center, Sense of Linguistics. Grant the ability to associate signals, characters, melodies, ... to specific messages. Some animals, like ants, dolphins, whales, and parrots can still maintain an advanced form of this Sense.¡± ¡°Can you guess what the Fourth Sense is?¡± ¡°Logic...¡± a few voices mumbling across the lecture. ¡°Correct. The opposite of Emotion, the Sense of Logic gives the ability to deduce and infer. It¡¯s pretty clear that Humans have this Sense thoroughly, while other animals have difficulties using it. Surprisingly, it¡¯s not Chimpanzees that have this Sense closest to us. It¡¯s Octopus.¡± ¡°And finally, Magic. Limited only to Humans, the Sense of Magic allows us to perceive and influence the Mana. Did you know that in different worlds, it¡¯s called by different names. Qi, Aether, Aura, ... the common term for them should be Mystical Substances.¡± ¡°Mana sometimes resonates with the stars in the sky. When we sense these resonances and mimic them, we learn the spells and understand more about Magic. That¡¯s why they are called the Gifts of the Constellations.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not the only way to learn Magic. There is a world where Magic is learned from what they call the Five Earthly Elements. Magic is not fixed, and in different worlds it can be studiedwith its Laws established in different ways. Most, if not all, of the time, the eventual Laws of Magic of a particular world is the result of Human¡¯s manipulation. So, Magic isn¡¯t totally a natural phenomenon.¡± ¡°Professor! So is it possible to change the Laws of Magic of our world?¡± a student questioned. ¡°Yes, it is. But the amount of effort, or Mana, to do so would be tremendous, not to mention a few tricky requirements to do so. Luckily in terms of spellcasting, our world¡¯s Magic Law is pretty neutral, allowing a wide range of Magic systems to be cast here.¡± ¡°The Laws of Magic can fluctuate and differentiate in different worlds, but they are all based on the Laws of the Four Senses below: Laws of Logic, Laws of Linguistics, Laws of Emotion, and Laws of Physics.¡± ¡°Now, can anyone explain why all we have learnt so far matters to our Spellcrafting class?¡± A long silence. Then a girl with long silver hair raised her hand. ¡°Comprehension of Magic Laws will improve with understanding of other Laws.¡± ¡°Exactly. In this class, I will not teach the Laws of Magic alone. Other Senses¡¯ Laws will be taught as well, specifically on how you can apply them to Spellcrafting and allow you to do something like this¡­¡± Professor Soren raises his hand, and a loud bang echoes the lecture... The night class Lightning is powerful. Stronger and faster than Fire. At its best, it can decimate a person into ash in a split of second. At its worst, it disorients them for a moment of advantage in the heat of a combat. Yet, Fire is the most used element in magic combat, not Lightning. Why? Lightning is risky. Its strike has a large range of error, meaning a Lightning strike spell has a chance to miss its target, hit an ally, or even damage the caster. That''s why most of the time, Lightning spells are cast in the form of a cone with multiple strikes, far away from allies, and the casters have to wear insulating clothes to minimize the backlash. ¡ª A single Lightning Strike emerged from Professor Soren''s hand, hitting the golden hologram in the air, dispelling it. Many students, knowing the nature of Lightning, stared at what just happened with wide eyes. "What you just see, a Lightning Strike with high precision, is Spellcrafting with the application of Laws of Physics." The Professor explained. "By manipulating what is called Electric Potential of the target and the surrounding environment, the Lightning summoned will be attracted to the target, reducing its natural error." "And that is the end of today class. The following students, please stay behind for a few minutes. Everyone else can leave." Professor Soren started calling out a list of around a dozen names from a paper. The called students, some with confused faces, gathered in front of the Professor. Soren waited until other students left, then addressed to the group of students in front of him. "You will fail this class..." ¡ª Lyra finished her dinner in the cafeteria and headed out toward the campus yard. She looked at the sunset sky, toward the giant clock floating above the yard. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. 15 more minutes. It''s time for her to head to the lecture hall Professor Soren had instructed them to go to in the morning. While walking, she recalled their after-class meeting with the Professor. "You will fail this class, with the new curriculum that I have to teach this year." Professor Soren explained to the group of students he summoned. "For long, Spellcrafting 101 includes the revision of basic Gifts of Constellation, which have been taught to most students since their young age before attending this Academy. However, from the direction of Professor Harrow, the Dean of Spellcrafting, classes of Spellcrafting 101 this year shall not include any revision of the basic." The Professor scanned the student group to summaries a quick profile of them and continued. "Most of you are from the immigrated communities or minority groups, where you have learnt different systems of Magic since young age from your families. However, since Spellcrafting taught in the Academy mostly is based on the Gift of Constellations, it''s crucial for you to acquire a few basic of it. Otherwise, the materials in our next classes will be difficult for you." "There is a night class in this lecture at 7:00 pm." The Professor pointed in the campus map and directory paper. "There will be revisions and exercises there, starting tonight. This class is not compulsory, and you are free to leave early whenever you feel the revision of that day is sufficient. Please come by." And that''s where Lyra was heading to. Born from a family of Vaelora, she is a gifted student in Spirit Magic. However, unlike most of her childhood friends who end up joining Vaelora Temples when they are at age, Lyra''s talent earned her the scholarship to attend the Soluna Academy, the most prestigious institution in this world. Lyra reached the lecture hall, which is smaller than the morning lecture. The seats were mostly occupied. She could recognize faces of the students in the group the Professor summoned the morning. One of them recognized her and gave a friendly gesture toward an empty seat nearby. Lyra responded with a light smile and took the seat. She scanned the classroom. There are not only students from Spellcrafting 101, but also many who did not wear the Academy''s uniform. There are even a few who are in Year 2 and Year 3, based on the name tags on their clothes. Shortly after, Professor Soren entered the lecture. Following him was a girl with silver hair. It looked like she is his student assistant. "Before we started today class, my assistant, Alice, will give each of you a Dummy Sphere." Alice held a crystal sphere of a size of an eyeball on her hand and cast a spell. A white cloud within the sphere flashed up, and in front of the students are copies of the spheres. Alice gave a bow goodbye to the Professor and left the lecture hall. "Let us start today class..." The Gift of Constellations Imagine you are under the water, with goggles on. If there is a different type of fluid like oil or soap in the water, even when it is colorless, you can still more or less distinct it away from the water if you focus. That is what Mana is to humans. Like almost-invisible bubbles of water floating around that we barely notice. Among these bubbles are ones forming around each living being. ¡°The Mana that emerges passively from yourself is called the Dormant Mana. But for short, we can call it Aura, which is also the name being used in some Magic systems that heavily utilize it with Martial Arts.¡± ¡°While you can perceive and control your own Aura with your mind, forming it into any shape you want,¡± the Professor rotated and changed shapes of his own Aura, which, under a spell, became more visible in a form of golden liquid to the students, ¡°normally, that alone is useless.¡± He formed the Aura into the shape of a giant sword and swept it through the class. The sword went through the students, the desks, everything, as if it is just some form of illusion. ¡°However, Aura is a crucial part to cast a spell. Each of you, do this to a point in your Aura.¡± Professor Soren''s Aura returned back to the golden sphere of 2 meter-radius around himself. Then, it was as if someone tapped a finger into a surface of water, a point in front the Professor vibrated and gave out small circular waves. Doing all these is a child-play. Even babies when they start to notice their own Aura can do these tricks at ease. And more surprising was the students not in the Academy uniforms were taking this exercise seriously. ¡°Good! Look like all of you have no problem with Humming. By concentrating a hum into a point of your Aura, you are in the first step forming your Mana into a spell.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Now, hum this sound into the sphere that was given to you earlier.¡± Professor Soren instructed while humming a sound that is amplified for students to hear. The students tried to copy the sound, with some immediately seeing the effect on the spheres. The white cloud inside the spheres changed into red for a moment, then turned back to white when the hum stopped. ¡°This is a Dummy Sphere.¡± Professor Soren explained. ¡°It''s an artifact designed to react to your Hummings of the 12 Runes of Constellations. The rune we just did is ??, the Essence of Fire. It changes the color of the sphere into red.¡± He picked the chalk and started writing the Constellation Runes on the board in a circle. As if the black board is enchanted, circles and lines formed around the Runes. ¡°I will now demonstrate and explain each of the 12 Runes.¡± ¡°?? - Essence of Fire. Color changes to Red.¡± ¡°?? - Essence of Water. Color changes to Blue.¡± ¡°?? - Essence of Air. Color changes to Green.¡± ¡°?? - Essence of Earth. Color changes to Yellow.¡± ¡°?? - Speeding Character. Cloud particles move faster and get hotter.¡± ¡°?? - Melting Character. Sphere gets softer into a rubble ball.¡± ¡°?? - Slowing Character. Cloud particles move slower and get colder.¡± ¡°?? - Hardening Character. Sphere gets harder into a crystal ball.¡± ¡°?? - Levitating Character. Sphere gets lighter.¡± ¡°?? - Diffusing Character. Sphere grows and multiplies.¡± ¡°?? - Attracting Character. Sphere gets heavier.¡± ¡°?? - Strengthening Character. Cloud particles radiate brighter.¡± Professor Soren demonstrated and observed the class humming the Runes on the Dummy Spheres. As expected, they could perform the Hummings for some Runes correctly in the first try, and take 2, 3 turns with others. ¡°Your homework is to take the Dummy Spheres with you and practice Humming with them. As Spellcrafting is the Art that requires precision, you should feel familiar with the 12 Runes and activate them correctly and fast.¡± The Professor concluded the class with a stern reminder. ¡°The homework is not difficult, but very crucial to what we will learn in the next class: Elemental Conjuration.¡± Chapter 0 - The Forbidden Arts ¡°Tobias Soren acquired the Forbidden Knowledge illegally,¡± Duke Harrow¡¯s accusation echoed through the High Court. ¡°And worse, he taught it to his students, risking the destruction of the world.¡± Alice had braced herself for this trial, summoned by Harrow. Yet, the sheer gravity of the Duke¡¯s accusation left her reeling. She glanced at Professor Tobias Soren, searching for his reaction, which was¡­ unsettlingly calm. ¡°I¡¯m curious,¡± the King, seated high on the bench among the judges, shared a similar expression of intrigued disbelief. ¡°How can you be certain Tobias Soren possesses knowledge he shouldn¡¯t?¡± Access to the Forbidden Knowledge was strictly controlled, granted only by the King and Queen. Every grant, every topic, every permitted extent of sharing, was meticulously recorded and monitored by the Monarchs. ¡°I provided the Oracle with the memories of his classes,¡± the Duke replied. To enforce the laws surrounding the Forbidden Knowledge, nobles could query the Oracle¡ªthe golem guardian of those secrets¡ªto determine if a topic fell within its purview. ¡°That does not prove illegal acquisition,¡± Alice objected. ¡°Professor Soren is a gifted scholar. His research might naturally overlap with topics within the Forbidden Knowledge.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll agree with my diligence in reviewing his materials for potential issues before the next academic year?¡± Bullshit. You¡¯re just trying to cover your tracks. ¡°The Oracle confirmed a ¡®positive¡¯ match, but did not specify which topics were forbidden.¡± What? A stunned silence descended upon the courtroom. Everyone understood the implication. To prevent the indiscriminate spread of the Forbidden Knowledge, the Oracle was designed to withhold more than 25% of its archive. ¡°Summon the Oracle,¡± the King commanded. There could be no delay in addressing a potential catastrophe. Within seconds, the courtroom ceiling parted, revealing a floating silver orb that descended into the center. Then, with a graceful transformation, the orb became a ten-foot humanoid figure. The golem, a towering woman in a metallic gown, fixed her lifeless ruby eyes on the King, awaiting his command. ¡°By the authority of the King, reveal the percentage of materials in the archive that match the memories provided by Duke Harrow!¡± ¡°[Estimated 85% to 100%.]¡± The Oracle¡¯s flat response ignited a wave of shock throughout the courtroom. Even Duke Harrow¡¯s face was drained of color. He had intended to use the trial to discredit Professor Soren, but he had not anticipated such a devastating revelation. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Alice trembled. With that much Forbidden Knowledge, the professor she thought she knew could be a monster capable of unleashing world-ending magic. Like everyone else, she looked to the professor, fear gnawing at her. Should they subdue him now? Or risk provoking him? His expression might hold the answer. Instead, they found him looking amused, with a hint of curiosity and confusion. How do I convince everyone I¡¯m not capable of destroying the world? That was his current dilemma. The King struggled to maintain his composure. He had to see this through. He took a deep breath. ¡°Project the core knowledge, deduced to represent 50% of the archive,¡± the King ordered, seeking to minimize the exposure of the Forbidden Knowledge within the courtroom. The Oracle calculated for five seconds, then directed its eyes toward the open air. Laser beams formed a holographic projection of a classroom scene. ¡°The Five Senses stack upon each other, forming the Laws of the World we live in.¡± Alice remembered this. It was the first class she had attended. The scene shifted. ¡°The Dark Forest Hypothesis should not be used to explain the Absence of Extraterrestrial Civilization. It should be the premise of Pre-Eden Interdimensional Warfare.¡± Another class. ¡°It has different names: Pandemonium, Abyss, Limbo¡­ But I prefer the Soul Realm.¡± This time, it was a scene from Midnight Roguelike, the professor¡¯s dream-class. The holographic professor rambled¡­ ¡°I had the feeling someone misheard ¡®By the Great Filter of God¡¯ as ¡®By the Grace of God.¡¯¡± And another. ¡°Have you heard of Laplace¡¯s Demon?¡± Then, two fragmented scenes. ¡°Let me tell you the story of Moira¡­ And that is how there are Three Sisters.¡± The Oracle ceased its projection. Unlike the confused nobles, the King, with full access to the archive, understood the significance of these keywords. ¡°Are these memories accurate?¡± ¡°[Calculations confirm the memories are authentic and true.]¡± The Oracle¡¯s response was unwavering, its ruby eyes fixed on the King, as if urging him to maintain composure. The King scanned the courtroom, his gaze settling on his daughter, who had spent considerable time with the professor, hoping she might offer insight. Alice¡¯s bewildered expression only deepened his disappointment. He turned to Professor Soren, managing only a hoarse, ¡°How¡­?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, if I provide the Oracle with my memories, it can determine the accuracy of my explanation, correct?¡± Soren¡¯s attention was now focused on the golem. He was fascinated by its ability to analyze, project, and calculate memories. ¡°Ye¡­ Yes!¡± the King stammered, his mind still wrestling with the possibility of ordering the professor¡¯s execution. ¡°Like a Laplace¡¯s Demon¡­ Fascinating!¡± the professor exclaimed. Without hesitation, he raised a finger, conjuring a thread of light. He gestured toward the Oracle, sending the thread of memories into the golem. The Oracle¡¯s ruby eyes glowed. It began its analysis, recalling a random fragment: the first class Alice had attended. ¡°What is Magic?¡±